SHIELD
by TheGreatestFear0909
Summary: How Natasha Romanoff became a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with the help of Clint Barton.
1. Mister Derevensky

Natalia Romanova slid into Sadiv Derevensky's back seat. The rain that had been beating down on Volgograd for the whole afternoon didn't put a damper on Derecensky's assignment for Natalia. She had taken the whole of the dreary afternoon to gather intel on her target that Sadiv had given her. The target was named Aleksandr Breshnev, a playboy thug from a family of Russian Intelligence Officers inside the government. With his recent defection to an unknown country, it had garnered his death warrant from Sadiv.

Natasha met Sadiv on the outskirts of Volgograd in a abandoned cluster of warehouses. Sadiv had all the treatments of a well-manicured man of money. The dark slick hair, well tailored suit, and the IWC watch to all fit into a specific profile. The man had many means of money, so it irked Natasha that he would need to hire an assassin to finish a job that one of his own henchmen could easily solve. Nevertheless, when Sadiv initially offered the job, she didn't refuse.

The heat in the back of the car was on full blast, which made her wet, dripping red hair cling to the sides of her face and neck. Natasha clenched her teeth as Sadiv droned on about the target, "He's a traitor to our country little girl."

"I'm perfectly aware of the target's allegiances Mr. Derevensky."

Sadiv stopped speaking and stared at Natasha as his eyes lazily scanned up and down her seated body. The more he looked at her, the more cramped and humid the back of the car seemed.

"You seem quite young for an assassin," Sadiv said as he grabbed Natasha's knee. "Too pretty, in fact. The young and pretty Black Widow. You would be a pretty little girl for my club. "

Natasha clenched her teeth harder together in order to fight the impulse of beating the man unconscious. Instead, she grabbed his cubby hand off her knee and gave it a quick twist. He let out a yelp, but she continued, "Mr. Derevensky, don't ever confuse my skill set with your cheap entertainment. You've hired me and you'll get your money worth." She persisted with twisting his wrist slowly hearing the small cracks.

She quickly let go of his over-inflated hand and got out of the car. The cool air from the rainy night was refreshing. She turned back to the open door of the car and ducked her head back in, "Goodnight Mr. Derevensky."

Sadiv Derevensky gingerly held his broken wrist as he looked back at Natasha. The look of pain and flashing anger was plain in his eyes. "You stupid bitch. I can't believe you did this to me. Me! You will die for this. I can assure you—" Before he could continue his rant, Natasha slammed the door shut and gave the back of the car a couple of thuds to tell the driver to move along. With the strict timetable of this assignment she knew that Sadiv Derevensky wouldn't turn the car around.

Natasha weaved through the alleys between the numerous warehouses searching for the target's hideout. When she reached Warehouse 4, a man guarded a small door on the side of the building. Natasha quickly walked up to the man, before he could ask her what she was doing here, and twisted him to the ground. With one swift punch to the head he was unconscious. Natasha took the key card from the man's pocket and swiped herself into the warehouse. Behind a cover a shipping crates, she looked into the center of the room and saw the target, Aleksandr, with two men as guards. She scanned the rest of the room and saw that there weren't any possible locations for other reinforcements. If the timetable that Sadiv had given her was correct, she had exactly two hours before anyone else would show up. So, it was just Aleksandr, the two men, and Natalia Romanova.

She walked out into the middle of the warehouse and wasted no time attacking the two men who surrounded Aleksandr Breshnev. She curled her thighs around one of the men's necks when she had gained momentum and broke his neck. He immediately crumpled to the floor, while the other man tried to stand himself up. Natasha took the opportunity and quickly ended him. During the fight, Aleksandr had fallen to the ground and was whimpering in fear. He slowly scooted away from Natasha when her eyes bore into his. She took the gun from her holster and aimed it towards his chest. Before she had clicked the safety off, an arrow from high above sailed down into her right thigh. The pain was searing, but the adrenaline from the fight kept it from becoming debilitating.

"Don't step any closer to him," a low voice said from high above on her right side. An American. Natasha's green eyes savagely flicked in the direction of the echoing voice.

"And if I do," Natasha questioned back, hoping for the man to speak again.

"It won't be a warning shot this—"

That is all Natasha needed from the man's voice. She pinpointed a vague area where the voice was coming from and clicked her gun's safety off. She fired five shots into the dark air above her towards the right side of the warehouse. A loud groan cut into the ringing silence after the gunshots and a man began to fall from the high place he had been perched. On the way down to the floor of the warehouse one of the many shipping crates cradled the man's fall. The crate broke and the man rolled ungracefully to the hard cement floor.

She walked over to the man lying on the ground. She would wait for him to get up to stand up to have an even chance, but she was still very curious why one American was here in Volgograd guarding three Russians. Without hesitation she asked, "Who are you?"

The man looked up with a slight smirk on his face that quickly grimaced in pain, "Agent Barton," he said through heavy breaths, "And who the hell are you?"


	2. Agent Barton

**Thanks for the messages and response to my first part! Being that this is my first attempt at writing here, feel free to completely and critically review it, as long as it isn't outwardly rude I'll definitely appreciate it! :) **

Natasha was quickly loosing her patience with the assignment Sadiv Derevensky had tasked her. This job was supposed to be a clean cut assassination, but instead she had an American agent crumpled on the floor and her target, Aleksandr Breshnev, still not dead. Agent Barton was still trying to stand, which gave Natasha the opportunity to finish her original job.

She broke off the arrow that was still imbedded in her thigh and strode over to Aleksandr Breshnev. With the gun still in her hand, she cocked it. Simultaneously, Agent Barton had regained enough composure to shoot another arrow towards Natasha stopping her from killing Aleksandr. It landed in her back left shoulder, which made her wince once more in pain. She turned around and walked back, forgetting her original target once more, to Agent Barton who was now standing. Sweat beaded down the man's face and his large, blue eyes stared back at her.

"Agent for whom?" Natasha asked Agent Barton with pursed lips. This American agent was causing more complications than she had planned, but she wasn't ready to kill him. He hadn't been assigned to her nor had he attacked her. At this point all Agent Barton was, was a gnat flying around her head causing annoyance.

"You're younger than I'd thought you'd be," was all Agent Barton said.

A small fear rose in Natasha's throat causing her to panic. Agent Barton knew who she was, which only meant one thing. She raised her gun accusingly towards his face, "Who are you?"

Agent Barton's eyes furrowed together in concern or confusion. Natasha couldn't be quite sure. He continued to stare at Natasha causing a strained silence. Finally, he broke it with his answer, "I suppose you think that—"

Before Natasha could get her answer from him, a loud bang sounded from just outside the warehouse. A group of men carrying a varied amount of ammunition filtered in from both entrances of the warehouse. Natasha quickly surveyed the men, and turned back to Agent Barton and asked, "Yours?"

But, Agent Barton had vanished from the spot he had been standing moments before. She stood in the center of the dilapidated warehouse surrounded by about forty armed men. Aleksandr had been picked up by a large man and was being held at gunpoint.

"Now who are you guys," Natasha asked through exasperated breaths.

One of the men in a long duster coat replied in a thick accent similar to Sadiv Derevensky's, "We are here for cleanup."

She quickly studied the men and realized they all worked for Sadiv. "Cleanup? I have that under control. You're not needed here."

The large man holding Aleksandr Breshnev took no time to finish him off. The close proximity to the gunshot sprayed blood onto the large man's face causing him to sadistically smile in response.

"No," the Russian thug in the duster replied with a monotone voice, "We are here to clean up _all_ loose ends."

A split second of recognition between the man in the duster and Natasha was all it took. The man started to raise his gun in her direction and she quickly reacted. She tore the gun from the man's hand while kicking him in the kneecap. It bent back at a severe angle with a sharp crack. The other thugs began to descend on her in savage, but untrained kicks and punches. She held them off until she heard numerous gunshots from one of the entrances. This was enough for all of them to stop and turn. In front of Natasha were five men dressed in all black, unmarked uniforms. The group of Sadiv's men immediately took their guns and open fired upon the five men.

Natasha took this as her moment to seek cover. She went behind the shipping crates that Agent Barton had fallen onto only several minutes before. She caught her breath, while she tried to figure out an exit strategy. Catching her unaware, one of Sadiv's men had followed her to the crates and pulled her out into the open by the ends of her hair. She used her momentum and tried to flip over the man's arm, but the man's brute strength stopped her midair and threw her hard against the shipping crates. As he barreled over to her ready to finish her off, an arrow struck the middle of the man's chest. Two more flew down until the man collapsed onto the cement floor.

Natasha looked up to find Agent Barton perched above her on a ledge. He hopped down with his bow drawn and started to walk towards her. Natasha quickly drew her gun towards him. Agent Barton's eyebrows creased together and he immediately stopped walking. She didn't hesitate to fire her gun in his direction. Behind Agent Barton, one of Sadiv's men fell to the ground.

"Now," Natasha said to Agent Barton, "We're even."

Agent Barton kept his face clean of any response. Natasha pressed him further, "Are those other men yours?"

"Yes," he replied.

The gunfire was beginning to die down, so Natasha knew that her escape needed to be made. Her target Aleksandr Breshnev had been killed and she didn't need to linger here any longer. It angered her that Sadiv's men had been ordered to "clean" her up along with Aleksandr. It seemed that she would be paying Sadiv Derevensky a visit. She surveyed her options for an escape route.

She turned back to Agent Barton and saw that he was busy taking out the rest of Sadiv's men with what ever remained of his five-man team. She spotted a small, open window about twenty yards to her right that she could quickly slide through. Rapidly, she checked her gun's magazine and realized she only had two bullets left. Natasha began to sprint towards the window firing off her last two bullets as cover, but she caught a stray shot from one of Sadiv's men that took her in her left thigh.

With both the broken arrow in her right thigh and the bullet in her left, the adrenaline couldn't keep her from falling to the ground. Dragging her body towards the window, another bullet edged into her abdomen. Her arms gave out and she rolled unto her side.

Everything in the room seemed to be growing more silent as she lay there on the hard cement ground. Finally, she heard two voices approaching. She turned towards their voices, but found her vision fading quickly.

"This is all Fury sent?" The voice she recognized as Agent Barton said to another man. "Five guys?"

"This was supposed to be a pickup mission Clint," the other man said. "You were supposed to take out Black Widow while we got Aleksandr Breshnev. But now we're down four guys."

"I'll explain it to Fury," Agent Barton said, "Don't worry."

"I'm not."

The two men had reached Natasha and were standing over her. The pain gathering in her abdomen made it hard to keep her face from contorting in pain. The other agent stared at her in the similar way Sadiv Derevensky had in the back of his car. "So, this is the infamous Black Widow?"

"Yes," Agent Barton replied.

"Well, no reason to waste time," the other agent said, "Kill her."

"No," Agent Barton said, "She's coming with us."

"What? You know Fury won't be happy with this."

"We lost one asset tonight, might as well gain another. We can question her."

"A Russian mercenary? How much could she know? You'll have more to explain to Fury then the loss of the agents."

"I know."

"Fine. I'll get the stretcher. Damn it, Clint."

Natasha watched the other agent walk out of the warehouse. Agent Barton slowly turned his face back down to hers. He knelt down next to her and checked her gunshot wounds. "They didn't hit an artery. You'll live."

Natasha just stared at him. Black crept into the edges of her vision

"Natalia Romanova, you're safe," Agent Barton said as he clutched her face.

Natasha managed a slight smirk. She scoffed at Agent Barton in response, but quietly added in Russian, "But for how long?"

Then, Natasha's vision went black.


	3. Natalia Romanova

Natasha awoke in a dimly lit room. It had a sterile sort of feel to it, much like a hospital. But, even though it faintly smelled and looked like a hospital she could tell she was far from it. The door to her small room had a large latch that could only be open from the outside. From the looks of it she was being held captive.

The memories began flooding back when she tried to get up from the bed. The bullet wound in both her side and left leg caused problems with she tried putting weight on her body to stand. She tried her right leg, but the arrow wound pinched. _That damn archer,_ she thought.

She lay back down on the bed wondering how long she had been unconscious. The last thing she remembered was the archer's face, Agent Barton, telling her she was safe. But looking at the state of recovery she was in and the lock on the door, she felt the complete opposite. Looking around the room, there weren't any sort of hooks, sharp edges, or anything that could be used as a weapon.

The exertion made her tired. She dozed off and was woken by the click of the large, metal door closing. Entering the room was Agent Barton. He wasn't wearing the same gear from the warehouse, but it looked similar enough. The same dark pants and jacket. He stood close to the door with his arms folded. If her wounds didn't cause so much immobility she would try to sit up. Instead, she just lay on the bed staring at the quiet Agent Barton.

He was the first to cut into the silence, "Your wounds are healing quickly."

Natasha didn't respond, but studied Agent Barton. The man was young like her, but older by a few years. The calluses on his hand showed he favored his left-hand when shooting. There was faint orange dust covering his boots, meaning they weren't anywhere close to Volgograd anymore, or Russia for that matter.

With the growing silence from Natasha, Agent Barton tried again, "You've been unconscious for over fourteen hours."

Natasha quickly glanced around the room and tried to sit up. Between labored breaths she asked, "Where am I?"

Agent Barton feet were rooted in the floor, but his eyes scrunched together in concern. "You're safe now."

"You've said that," Natasha said angered. "But, where am I?"

Agent Barton didn't seem bothered by Natasha's clipped tone. He nonchalantly replied, "Mojave Desert, Utah."

"The United States?" Natasha asked rather shocked.

"Yes," Barton replied. "Our facility is surrounded by twenty miles of desert."

Agent Barton's words heeded as a warning: don't escape because you'll die. Granted the desert was much different from the weather in Volgograd, but she didn't rule out escaping just yet.

"Whose facility?" Natasha asked.

"SHIELD," Barton replied.

"This is who you work for?"

"Yes."

"The people who sent you to kill me?"

"Yes."

"So why haven't you? Killed me, I mean."

"Because you're an asset."

"Because you think I have answers. Look, you should've listen to your friend back there. I know a lot less than you think. I get a target and kill. That's all."

"But, you're friends with Sadiv Derevensky."

"I hardly call what Mr. Derevensky and I had, friendship."

Agent Barton unfolded his arms in an exasperated manner. "You know what I meant."

"Yes," Natasha said, "I did. Mr. Derevensky helped me a few years back when I was a little lost. Every now and then he would supply me with a job."

"It was more than now and then."

"Recently, no. He's gained a lot of power within underground groups, so he didn't need me."

"You know a lot more than you think."

"Well, I may as well cooperate. With two gunshot wounds, twenty miles of desert seems like a long walk."

If Natasha hadn't been staring so intensely at Agent Barton, she would have missed the slight quirk of his lips that she swore was a smile.

He quickly composed himself and continued, "We want you for more than your cooperation, Natalia. We want you to join SHIELD."

Natasha aloofly raised her eyebrow with disbelief. "What makes you think—"

Agent Barton cut in before she could finish, "You and I both know what happened back in Volgograd. Sadiv Derevensky led you into a slaughter. The fact that he brought in forty armed men to finish you off is a definite indication of your skill."

"Still don't have me sold here, Archer."

Natasha's reaction didn't surprise Agent Barton. He pulled out a file from his jacket and walked it over to her. He plopped it down on the bed. She grabbed the file and looked inside. It showed pictures, dates, and other paperwork all about Sadiv Derevensky. She even spotted a few pictures of herself in the file.

"Your friend, Mr. Derevensky, wasn't just working and gaining power in underground groups. He has ties to the Russian Government. We're unaware of how deep his ties go, but it is clear that the order for your execution came from high up."

She flipped through the pages and found pictures of Sadiv with numerous people. Some she recognized as high-ranking officials that were even higher than Aleksandr Breshnev's family was. One caught her eye, but she couldn't place the vague recognition. The other people in the pictures pushed past her notice.

"Natalia," Barton carried on, "If you go back to Russia, they'll finish the job."

"You're forcing me into joining SHIELD?"

"No," Barton said plainly. "Stay. Leave. But know that if you don't you'll always be on the run from Sadiv or whomever else you killed in your past. Because without Sadiv keeping those third parties away, you'll be surprised how far you'll have to go to stay out of their eyesight."

Agent Barton's logic won out in the end. Natasha knew that he was right. Admitting that to the archer was out of the question. Instead, she just said, "So, what's next?"

Agent Barton eyes lit up warmly and said, "You can meet the Director once you're fully healed."

"Okay," Natasha responded. "By the way Agent Barton, it's Natasha. No one calls me Natalia Romanova anymore."

Clint's large, blue eyes kindly stared back, but instead of responding he just gave a curt nod before he left her room.


	4. Director Fury

**Thanks for the response so far! Feel free to review, I love hearing it! :) **

A year had passed since Clint Barton had brought Natasha into SHIELD. Five of those months she had been in recovery. Granted, she had tried within the first six days to hunt down Director Fury only to be stopped by another agent. Her attempts didn't stop for another two weeks. Finally, Agent Barton crept into her room one night around two in the morning with Director Fury in toe.

Her first meeting with Directory Fury was abrupt. Fury strode right up to Natasha's bed, but having healed a little bit, Natasha tried to quickly stand face to face with the man who was in charge of SHIELD.

Director Fury loomed over Natasha. His one good eye bore into both of hers. She didn't look away from his intense stare. She could tell that he was sizing her up, but she didn't give anything away. Finally, Fury spoke, "Black Widow."

"I prefer Natasha," she calmly retorted without breaking eye contact.

"Agent Barton informed me."

"Or Agent Romanoff," she added quickly. She knew she was being bold, but from the quick read she made of Fury and the chatter she heard about him in the last two weeks, he was a rash man. She took her chances.

Fury's face remained stoic when he replied, "Agent Barton will prep you on your assignment."

Director Fury turned and walked out of the room. On his way out, he gave a quick nod to Agent Barton. The first meeting between Fury and Natasha lasted no more than thirty seconds, but she was still shocked that after two weeks he was putting her on an assignment.

"I think he likes you," Agent Barton said with a faint hint of a smile playing on his lips.

Natasha kept her thoughts silent from Agent Barton. A man like Fury was supposed to intimidating, but Natasha kept comparing him to her superiors in The Red Room. She quickly banished the thought of her past as she always did. She didn't like to think of her days before she escaped there. Even if her dreaming mind would wander there, somehow it all remained cloudy in her mind. She liked it that way.

Agent Barton wasn't surprised by Natasha's silence. The most talking they had encountered between one another was after she had first arrived. Since then, Natasha remained silent trying to understand the underpinnings of SHIELD and its workers. Agent Barton briefed her on her assignment. It was a mock rescue mission without killing involved, which was new for her. But, "the enemy" that was surrounding the target were all SHIELD agents, so she had to be somewhat gentle.

Overall the mission went well, even if it was still within the SHIELD compound. They didn't trust her yet, which wasn't surprising. The only downside of the mission was Natasha's partner: Agent Hollis. She ended up disagreeing with one of his tactics during the mission. Their argument almost cost them the objective, but Natasha quickly made up for it.

For the next five months during her recovery, Natasha was put on simple missions much like her first one, each with different agents within SHIELD. She may have learned their names, but none of them stuck. The partners on each of the missions changed because as Agent Barton put it, "She can't place nice with others."

One time, Director Fury overheard Agent Barton say this to Natasha. He gave Barton a tight-lipped smile to his comment. Natasha couldn't tell if Fury was amused, but he turned to Barton and said, "Well, you're next Barton. See if she'll play nice with you."

"Sir, I—"

"Barton, we've run out of willing participants," Fury replied with finality. Natasha wasn't sure if she should feel proud that none of the SHIELD agents could work with her. They all had been incompetent in some way, which had almost cost the completion of the assignment each time.

The mock rescue mission with Agent Barton started like any other. Usually, she and her partner assaulted "the enemy" together, but instead, she found herself alone. Agent Barton had disappeared from the spot beside her.

Natasha huffed, but continued her incapacitation of "the enemy." When she had debilitated the two agents, she went for her target to complete the mission. But, Fury seemed to have another thing in mind for this particular assignment. Instead, five well-trained SHIELD agents sporadically filtered in and began attacking Natasha. The agents had the upper hand in the fight because of number. She knew she was close to losing until Agent Barton began shooting off mock arrows that hit one of the agents.

He hopped down from the high point inside the training room and shot off two more that took out another agent. Natasha looked over to him and found his face furrowed in concentration. He strode over to the agent that had broken away from Natasha and fought him off. The last two were still on Natasha, but with the help of Agent Barton they both finished them off quickly.

Agent Barton's stern face focused on the target and they both led the target outside the training room signaling the completion of the mission. Natasha looked over to Agent Barton who returned the stare.

"Not bad Romanoff," Agent Barton said to Natasha quietly. "You didn't yell at anyone this time."

"Good day for everyone then?" Natasha replied sarcastically.

Barton's face remained impassive to her response. They released their target that went back into the training room to help tend to the other agents who role-played "the enemy." Director Fury walked over the two of them while Natasha was trying to catch her breath. She could feel the sweat beads on the back of her neck.

Natasha's thoughts shifted to Agent Barton. She realized the mock mission was just like Volgograd. He kept his distance and always liked the high vantage point to be able to shoot from. When he couldn't have it, he still fought well in close combat. She found that he wasn't incompetent like the other agents.

"Well done," Director Fury said when he was finally near them.

"Thank you sir," Agent Barton replied knowing that Natasha would opt out on a response.

"Ms. Romanoff, I think you deserve apt time to finish your recovery." Director Fury said.

"Director," Natasha said to him. She turned to glance at Agent Barton who gave her a curt nod in reply. Natasha slowly walked away and back to her room.

From then on, Agent Barton was the only SHIELD agent she was allowed to train with. She figured that all the other willing participants within SHIELD refused. But, she didn't mind training with someone as skilled as Barton.

By the time nine months had passed since she had been delivered to the SHIELD compound, she found herself in fresh air. It had only taken Director Fury nine months to trust Natasha on a mission outside SHIELD's watchful eye. Granted, she had her partner, Agent Barton, on her side to stop her from trying anything other than what they had been assigned. She knew they still thought she would escape. At this point she hadn't ruled it out, but she hardly knew where she would go. So, she continued with her cooperation until a better opportunity revealed itself.

Natasha was comfortable with the routine she had gotten into, even if she was still weary to fully trust Agent Barton, Director Fury, or SHIELD in general. It was her previous training in The Red Room that always taught her to be suspicious, but never cautious. She continued on the missions with Agent Barton, who now insisted that she call him Clint.

"It's too formal Natasha," Clint said to her one day while they were sparring.

"Agent Barton suits you fine," Natasha said with a small smile. The way she said it could have been construed as flirting, but with Clint she always was apprehensive around him. She owed him a debt and that was all.

"Well, I could go back to calling you Natalia Romanova," Clint replied lightly.

_Ah,_ she thought, _he does think I'm flirting._ Natasha enjoyed the thought more than she liked, but it quickly darkened when he said her old name. She stopped sparring him and quickly dropped her arms to her side.

"I rather you didn't," Natasha said coolly before walking out of the room. Clint shouted for her to return saying that he was only kidding, but she didn't turn back. Her thoughts started drifting to her training in The Red Room and how she used to be Natalia Romanova. Her mood darkened further making it easier to block out Clint's voice. She banished the thoughts as quickly as they came. From that day on Clint Barton never called her Natalia Romanova, even in jest.

**Sorry for the two slow chapters, but I couldn't find myself rushing it in order to get to the main plot/showdown with the Sadiv character. So, don't fret! If you've made it this far, the next ones are going to be more intense.**


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